National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
- Australia's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2021-2031 (WPS Plan) aims to support the human rights and participation of women and girls in global stability, including stability after disasters, preventing conflict and creating durable peace in the wake of conflict. In 2024, Australia will release its first progress report under the WPS Plan, outlining progress and activities under the 4 outcomes of supporting women's meaningful participation and needs in peace processes; reducing sexual and GBV; supporting resilience, crisis, and security; law and justice efforts to meet the needs and human rights of all women and girls; and demonstrating leadership and accountability for women, peace and security.
- WPS Plan partners have their own WPS implementation plans, and allocate resources to support delivery. Examples of work from the Departments of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Home Affairs, and AFP include:
- Department of Defence: enhancing capacity through increased women's participation and leadership across all ranks and employment occupations, deploying more women on exercises, operations, humanitarian and disaster response missions, and their appointment to key engagement and representational roles.
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT): supports women and girls' participation and leadership in peace and security processes including through international advocacy, membership of global WPS alliances, and support to regional women peace mediator networks.
- Home Affairs: advances participation of Pacific women in customs and border protection domain; improves safety and security for women and girls through expanded family violence provisions in migration legislation and programs addressing violent extremism.
- AFP: partners with law enforcement services to integrate gender-related policies and practices across Australia's international policing operations. AFP collaborates with partners to build environments that prevent gender-based crime, and improve gender mainstreaming where AFP operates internationally.
- DFAT committed $25 million to the WPS agenda for 2022-27 to support partnerships with UN Women Asia-Pacific, Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund, ActionAid Australia, Legal Action Worldwide, and the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
- Australian export controls include consideration and assessment of human rights and international obligations, although obligations around gender equality and the human rights of women and girls are not explicit.
- Through gender-responsive budgeting, Government entities are required to analyse the gender equality impacts of new policy proposals related to the security sector and arms exports.